Sewing aid



July 5, 1949. s, PRESCOTT 2,475,460

SEWING AID Filed May 11, 1946 INVENTOR. REG/NA SVLVESTA PRESCOTT A TTORNEVS Patented July 5, 1949 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention is concerned with sewing aids and provides an improved sewing implement particularly adapted to making tailor tacks.

In dress-making and the like paper patterns are placed over and pinned to the goods to be cut and scissors or the like are used to cut out the goods around the outline of the pattern. This establishes accurately the shape of the piece, but it does not establish the points at which it is to be sewed in assembling a garment, and so the patterns are provided with perforations or other markers which indicate the position of seams, darts, pleats, etc. These markers must be transferred to the piece of cloth and this is done by inserting pins or making tailor tacks adjacent each marker while the pattern is still affixed to the cloth. Pins tends to slip out and also to prick the operator, and interfere with the sewing. Tailor tacks are much to be preferred.

The tailor tacks are made with needle and thread and are loop stitches passing through the cloth. Thereafter the pattern is removed from the cloth and the tailor tacks remain to guide the seamstress or tailor in assembling the garment. The tailor tacks remain in the cloth as long as they are needed, mark both sides of the cloth, and neither annoy the operator nor interfere with the sewing.

In some garments, hundreds of tailor tacks are required and their making is an arduous, timeconsuming, but necessary operation.

I have developed an implement which facilitates greatly the making of tailor tacks and the like and which cuts the time for such operations to but a small fraction of that consumed in making such markers in the traditional fashion with an ordinary needle and thread. The device of my invention is simple to construct and use and offers important economies in all branches of garment making, and especially for the housewife, the tailor, and the seamstress.

In essence, the device of my invention comprises a handle, a holder mounted on one end of the handle, a spool or bobbin rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to that of the handle, a needle mounted on the other end of the handle and projecting longitudinally therefrom with an eye adjacent its free end, and guiding means through which the thread passes along the handle from the spool to the eye.

In the preferred form of the invention, a cutter for the thread is mounted on the handle, for example a blade projecting from the side of the handle transversely to the axis thereof. If desired, the cutter may be provided with a guard.

The handle may be tubular, with the thread passing through its bore, which thus serves as the guiding means. In such case, the needle may be mounted in the bore, provided that sufiicient space is left for the thread to pass by the needle.

The holder preferably is bifurcated, with two springy side legs between which the spool is mounted. The springy side legs may be provided with small interior axles which fit in the bore of the spool. By springing the sides apart the axles are removed from the bore and the spool may be taken from the apparatus.

The needle may be curved, and in my preferred structure the curve is upward with the eye passing through the curved portion more or less parallel to the axis of the handle.

The cutter, holder and handle may be formed and held together in various ways. In one modification, the three are held together with a single screw, as described in detail hereinafter.

These and other aspects of my invention will be more thoroughly understood in the light of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the apparatus of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of Fig.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, taken from the needle end;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan View of the foregoing apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating how the needle of the apparatus carries the loop of the tailor tack through the cloth; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of another form of the implement of the invention adapted for assembly from stampings.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, it will be observed that the illustrated implement has an elongated tubular handle 10. This may be of any desired length, but preferably is about an inch and one half long. The front end of the handle is slightly tapered on the outside, and a curved needle H is mounted in the front, there being sufficient space unoccupied by the needle in the bore of the tube or handle to permit a thread 2 to pass through along the needle. The needle curves upwardly adjacent its outer end and is provided with an eye I3 which runs more or less in the direction of the axis of the handle.

The needle may be made by bending an ordinary sewing machine needle on the curve shown. It is held rigidly in the bore of the tubular handle by pressure fit or by soldering, threads, etc.

A spool holder I4 is mounted on the other end of the handle. It comprises a U-shaped piece of sheet metal having two springy legs or sides and [6. A bobbin or spool I1 is rotatably mounted between the two legs with its axis transverse to the axis of the handle. The spool may be an ordinary sewing machine bobbin comprising two circular side plates parallel to each other and joined by an axial tube. Each leg of the holder is provided with a short axle or lug l8, [9 which extends into the respective open end of the spool tube. The axles may be solid or tubular, and they are disposed in line with each other. the spool is to be withdrawn or changed, the two sides are sprung apart sufficiently to remove the axles from the bore of the tube.

The spool holder is fastened to the end of the tubular handle by means of a single screw 20 which also holds on the handle a cutter guardZl and a cutter 22. The screw is provided with a slot for screwdriver or other turning implement and-with a central hole through which the thread passes. The screw is threaded into the end of the tubular handle.

The cutter guard 2| is best seen in Fig. 3. It comprises a plate approximately equal in height to the height of the forked spool holder and as viewed in Fig. 3 has a vertical slot in its upper right hand corner. The cutter 22, for example a small piece of razor blade, is held in between the guard and thebottom of the forked spool holder by pressure exerted by the screw, which passes through the guard. The cutter projects slightly above the bottom of the notch in the cutter guard. The thread 12 from a body 23 thereof wound on the spool is led through the bore of the screw and through the bore of the handle to its front end and then is threaded through the eye of the needle from back to front.

The use of the implement of Figs. 1 to 4 to form a tailer tack is illustrated in Fig. 5, which shows a piece of cloth 2-4 overlaid by a paper pattern 25 provided with marker perforations 26, 21 opposite which the tailor tacks are to be made. The needle of the apparatus, with the thread from the bobbin passed through it and looped back along the handle, is pushed through the cloth twice, i. e. through the doubled cloth, adjacent one of the. marker perforations. This carries the loop of thread through the cloth and marks both sides of it. The loop is then held in position with the fingers of one hand, and the needle is withdrawn from the cloth while addi tional thread unreels from the bobbin. When the needle has been withdrawn a sufiicient distance, the portion of the thread extending between the cloth and the eye of the needle is carried over the cutter blade on the handle and snipped, leaving the implement threaded and ready for making another tack.

The operation just described is a rapid one, and only a few minutes of practice enables even an unskilled worked to become so proficient that he or she can make tailor tacks in but a small fraction of the time required by a skilled worker employing conventional needle and thread.

The apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 is adapted for use by a right handed worker, who will employ his left hand to hold the loop in position in the cloth while the thread is snipped. Holding the loop with a finger of the left hand and the bight of the thread taut with the right hand, the cutter may be moved up with the right hand under the taut thread in a single motion.

When.

4 The notch in the cutter guard aids in directing the blade against the thread.

For left-handed operators the cutter should be mounted on the other side of the handle, i. e. the apparatus viewed in plan will be the mirror image of Fig. 2.

It will be observed that the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 4 comprises the bobbin, the holder, the cutter, the cutter guard, the handle, the needle, and the screw, seven separate partsin all.

For mass production of the apparatus, employing a stamping technique, the number of separate parts may be reduced. A form of the apparatus adapted to rapid and economic production and with certain other advantages is illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein the handle 3|] and one side 3i of the spool holder are made integrally by stamping from a thin plate, the spool axle 33 on that side being formed as a short hollow tube by upsetting the metal of the plate in the stamping operation. The other, side 34 or leg of the spool holder is formed integrally with the cutter 35 which is simply a transverse projection bent out from the handle and having a notch in its upper face that is sharpened at the bottom in the plane of the plate to provide a cutting edge. The second leg 34 is also a stamping from thin sheet and has an inte rally formed tubular axle 53 as in the case of the first leg. The two separate pieces just described are joined together longitudinally along the handle by spot welding and are made of resilient material so that the forked holder formed by the two legs will spring apart to admit av conventional bobbin 36.

The end 3'1 of the handle opposite the holder is bent outwardly at a right angle and has two holes 38, 39. The needle 40 passes through the inner hole 38 and extends longitudinally of the side of the handle through a hole 4| in a locking screw 42. This screw passes transversely through the handle and is threaded on the side opposite the needle into a wing nut 43. By tightening this wing nut the needle is held rigidly against the handle in the position shown.

Thread 44 unwound from the bobbin is passed through a guide hole 45 in the base of one leg of the holder. This hole is approximately parallel to the guide hole 39 at the, front of; the handle, through which the thread. passes next. Thence it is threaded through the eye 46 of the needle and is then looped backalong the handle.

The apparatus of Fig. 6 is used in exactly the same way as that of Figs. 1 to 4 in making tailor tacks and similar looped stitches. It isv a most convenient hand tool and in some respects, notably greater ease of; threading, may be easier to use. However, the same ease of threading may be obtained with the apparatus of the first figures by cutting away a portion of one side of the tubular handle as indicated at 50 on Fig. 4.

I claim:

1. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from one end of the handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to, they handle, means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye along the handle, the holder being a fork with two le s capable of being sprung away from each other, each fork being provided with a short axle on which the spool is mounted so that it may be removed by springing the legs apart.

2. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from the outer end of the handle and mounted therein and having an eye near its pointed end, said end being bent at an angle to the shank of the needle, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool of thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, the spool holder being bifurcated with two spring sides each provided with a short axle, the spool being mounted on said axles and removable by springing the sides apart, and means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye of the needle along the handle.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the needle is bent in a plane transverse to the spool axis.

4. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from the one end of said handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of said handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, guiding means for the thread passing from the spool through the eye along the handle, and a cutter extending transversely from the handle, said cutter comprising a guard plate extending transversely from said handle, a notch in one corner of said guard plate and a cutting edge disposed between said guard plate and said spool holder and projecting into said notch formed in said guard plate.

5. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle member formed from a thin plate and offset at one end to form one leg of a spool holder, a second member joined to said handle member and similarly ofiset to form a second leg of said spool holder, said handle terminating at the end opposite said offset in a right angle bend provided with two holes parallel to the longitudinal axis of said handle, a needle passing through one of said holes and through a locking screw disposed transversely to said handle at a point above said bend.

6. A device according to claim 5 in which each of said legs of said spool holder is provided with an inwardly projecting offset opposite each other to form an axle upon which a spool may rotate.

7. A device according to claim 5 wherein said second member is provided with a right angle bend at the end opposite said offset, a notch in said right angle bend, the said notch being sharpened at the bottom in the plane of the bend to provide a cutting edge.

8. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from one end of the handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye along the needle, the holder being a fork with two legs capable of being sprung away from each other, each fork being provided with a short axle in which the spool is mounted so that it may be removed by springing the legs apart and a cutter blade mounted rigidly adjacent the handle and extending transverse to the direction of thread passage.

9. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from one end of the handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye along the handle, the needle being curved so that the outer portion carrying the eye is disposed at an angle to the shank of the needle mounted on the handle, the holder being a fork with two legs capable of being sprung away from each other, each fork being provided with a short axle in which the spool is mounted so that it may be removed by springing the legs apart.

10. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from one end of the handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye through the handle, the holder being a fork with two legs capable of being sprung away from each other, each fork being provided with a short axle on which the spool is mounted so that it may be removed by springing the legs apart.

11. In a device for making tailor tacks and the like, the combination which comprises a handle, a needle extending longitudinally from one end of the handle and mounted thereon and having an eye near its pointed end, a spool holder mounted on the other end of the handle, a spool for thread rotatably mounted in the holder with its axis transverse to the handle, and means for guiding the thread from the spool to the eye along the handle, the needle being curved in a plane transverse to the axis of the spool and through an are so that the opening of the eye is approximately parallel to the axis of the handle.

REGINA SYLVESTA PRESCOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 229,100 Council June 22, 1880 382,750 Bradford May 15, 1888 604,759 Johnson May 31, 1898 660,413 Bradt Oct. 23, 1900 786,000 Botkin Mar. 28, 1905 854,147 Carillon et a1 May 21, 1907 1,409,668 Carnall Mar. 14, 1922 

